Design: Cold Fusion
Introduction
In this article I will present my approach to creating a singleplayer level for Crysis. I chose this game in particular as it allows to create a linear progression with huge open environments and multiple ways to reach the same location.
Player starts at the drop zone and has to reach the underground base, but all of the objectives along his path offers multiple ways of fulfilling them. The game also offers some secondary objectives which have impact on the main task.
Player starts at the drop zone and has to reach the underground base, but all of the objectives along his path offers multiple ways of fulfilling them. The game also offers some secondary objectives which have impact on the main task.
Visual References
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1. Landing zone
2. Outer Outpost
3. GPS Jamming Station/Communication Center
4. Mountain Passage
5. Observation Point
6. Base
7. Base Inside
Level Layout
After decinding on the theme and having established all the goals I started drawing the level layout.
Example: Outer Outpost
Outer outpost is the first place where the player will encounter enemies in the game. It was designed to show and familiarize the player with the kind of enemies and danger he will be faced in the game. Outpost can be observed from a vantage point, so the player can easily observe enemy routs, check if there are guards in the security towers, and decide if he/she wants to use the main entrance or to sneak through the hole in the fence. It is also the place where the first main objective is located, so the player can decide if he/she wants to raise the alarm, or use stealth approach and sneak using various covers/safe spots to get there.
Example: Main Base (Exterior)
Main base is the biggest area in the game, and that's why it offers the most versatile approach for the player. It can be accessed through two main gates, as well as sewer entrance and through destroyed wall. Because both side entrances (sewer entrance and destroyed wall) offers easier point of entry, they have longer paths and more enemies on the way.
Example: Communication Center (Secondary Objective)
It is a second secondary objective in the game, and even though there is one main path leading to the objective, it is branching and offers the player a risky side path that leads straight at the enemies back, allowing for a surprise attack.
Level Flow
Level flow chart shows order and duration of the activities/encounters.
- Cut Scene (Level intro)
- Level exploration (Getting to the outpost)
- Encounter (Eliminating guards in the outpost and obtain data)
- Level exploration (Getting to the observation area)
- Encounter (Eliminating guards in the security tower)
- Level exploration (Finding security outpost/Secondary objective)
- Encounter (Disabling GPS jamming station/Secondary objective)
- Scripted Event (Calling an air strike/Optional)
- Level exploration (Finding communication center/Secondary objective)
- Encounter (Hack communication center to prevent enemy backup/Secondary objective)
- Level exploration (Getting to the base/three different paths)
- Encounter (Eliminating guards in the base)
- Level exploration (Getting inside the base)
- Encounter (Eliminating guards inside the base)
- Level Exploration (Gathering intelligence from the communication center)
- Level Exploration (Receiving programmers from the rockets)
- Boss fight (Fighting helicopter and guards)
- Cut Scene (Level outro)
Scripting
Scripting in Cryengine editor is handled by FlowGraph which is a node-based visual scripting method. It is fairly simple to use and allows for quite complex actions. Having said that there are also some downsides to it. One of them is having little control over controlling a character because the AI is designed to take care of everything, Which, in fact, is a very nice feature for an open world shooter, as the player might approach objectives in a various ways, and the AI mush cover for enormous playable spaces. All in all it's fairly flexible unless one wants to go far away with it from what was done in the original game.
Examples of scripted sequences:
Elevator
Hackable turrets
Helicopter fight
Enemy spawning
Conclusion
Overall, the designing process went quite smooth. The general idea for the level didn't change drastically when transitioning from the concept phase to blockout and then to final polish. Playable area went through some drastic shrinking process, as I initially assumed to use more playable vehicles, but then dropped the idea. Still, the level in terms of size is fairly big, close to the levels from the original game. Even though I am not fully satisfied with the level of scripting as some features cannot be changed from visual script level, the final output is satisfactory.